Democratic Left Alliance

The Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) is a social democratic political party in Poland that was founded in 1991 by former Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) and All-Poland Alliance of Trade Unions (OPZZ) members. The SLD's support base consisted of middle-rank state sector employees, retired people, former PZPR members, OPZZ members, and secular people. The party opposed decommunization and the limiting of the participation of former communists in civil service positions, and it criticized the introduction of religious education into school curriculums and the economic reforms in the country. In 2001, the party reached its height, winning 200/460 Sejm seats after winning 41% of the vote. By 2004, the party's popularity had dropped from 30% to 10% as the result of corruption scandals involving high-ranking SLD members. In 2017, the party held no representation in either house of Parliament, instead holding representation in the European Parliament and in regional assemblies.